I was among those that got to buy the EVEN 90 at the initial release on the EU server. Having played it for a bit my initial WR has dropped from 73% to 61%, and I find that to be reasonable when I take my overall standards into account.

But I have also got a feeling for what this tank lacks, and what buffs it really needs to be something WG should release completely into the wild. Here is a short list of what I feel needs to be tweaked to make the ELC EVEN somewhat ready for full release. And it almost only boils down to one thing: The DPM, which is abysmal.

It takes 28 seconds to load the clip, a clip that holds 3 rounds. Interclip reload is 2.5 secs. This gives a total DPM of 1195. At tier 8.

In comparison the Soviet BT-2 at tier 2 has 1173 DPM. This needs to be addressed, and I feel there are 3 ways to sort this apparent flaw:

A) Decrease full clip reload from 28 to 20 seconds. This will bring the dpm up to about 1800, something that is reasonable for a light tank at tier 8.

or...

B) Increase clip size from 3 to 4 shots, and keep reload at 28 seconds. This will bring DPM up to about 1600.

or...

C) Increase damage per shot from 220 to 270 and keep everything else as is. This will give a DPM of approx... 1650? Math... it is too late in the evening for that.

I'd be fine with any of the above, but perhaps would prefer option C. I like it to hurt bad at the other end of the barrel, and a volley of 3 x 270 is not to be taken lightly.

On top of this I feel that this tank needs a few other tweaks as not to be a total money sink for many of the potential buyers. Interclip reload should be decreased from 2.5 to 2.2 seconds, and dispersion should be brought down from 0.35 to 0.34, just to ease those longer shots a little.

Well, how do I feel about it as it is right now? I love it. I feel it is a very sharp blade, but as such also very thin. It needs a very skilled player to bring to life, and I think that as it is right now it would be bad for WG to release it fully. It really needs to be a little more competitive to work in the hands of others than those that have mastered the french go-carts. Not to mention that the tier 8 meta is a hard place to live.

Tweak it just a little, bring DPM up to 1800-ish and make the gun stats just a bit sharper and it is good to go.

Edit: I feel I need to add something else here. And this is almost a "heads up!" sort of thing. As this stands right no, the EVEN is not a good crew trainer. This is a tank where you put your already skilled crew to have fun. Nothing else.

Taking this tank to battle with a fresh 50% crew is no more fun than slowly chewing off your own foot. So buyer beware - the stats of the tank really needs to be far better before this is something to actually use for your crew training.

Late edit, after 268 games:

I would like to point out that the ELC EVEN 90 is severely UP. You will hate it, and feel absolutely at an disadvantage if you have to face off any other light tank, be it tier 6 or tier 10. It does not matter, you are in most cases toast.

The tank is also so weak that you cannot realistically even dream about turning a game should your team look like an ordinary fail team. You just do not have the right tools for it if you drive the ELC EVEN 90. Sure, you will get the occasional great game, but meta at tier 8 just limits the use of a light tank with a DPM of a tier 2 light. And that is what this is.

Yeah, I really love mine. But it is also a really bad tank. You can do fun stuff in it, but it should not be a tier 8 tank. In its current state it ought to be tiered down to tier 7, at the most. DPM, maneuverability and agility just are not there to be competitive. This tank is what premium tanks used to be; a tad worse than the tech tree tanks in all aspects. All but one: It is small. That is pretty much all this tank has going for it - its diminutive size and a semi decent camo rating.

It needs a DPM buff of no less than 500-600 DPM, meaning somewhat quicker reloads and better damage per shot. Either 4 shot clip, same reload, or shorten the reload to 20 seconds.

It needs a stronger motor.

It needs to turn faster and be generally more agile.

And it needs better view distance.

I am not the greatest player, but this tank is aimed at selling to any and all players. If you do not really fancy small, rather weak tanks that can be of great nuisance but not always very helpful, and that have a hard time against any enemy that chose to face you - regardless of tier or type - then avoid this one like the plague. WG needs to buff it. For real.

Taking this tank to battle with a fresh 50% crew is no more fun than slowly chewing off your own foot. So buyer beware - the stats of the tank really needs to be far better before this is something to actually use for your crew training.

If you are a very good player, you will find yourself able to adjust to the tank and make the best out of it. Without a doubt you will find players with 3 marks on it within a few days/weeks.

They tend to have that effect on tanks.

For the not so good tankers, like myself, I noticed i can get away from a T34 who's within 100 meters from me when i am in cover or behind a wall. The camo is just amazing.

Therefor, my believe is, the ELC should be a spotter, constant on the move, or passive scouting from a bush, with enemies not far away.

It would be great to see a team working together and shooting targets you spot and/or track so you can farm spotting damage, bring the cooperation experience back.

This tank could be the start of a whole new level of experience - or old experience, for the beta testers ;-)

In my opinion, it would be better to buff the camo value while firing on the move. I believe this will be helpfull for active (aggressive) scouting runs without reducing the possibility to get too close to the enemy thus suicide scout.

I see a few suggestions I like. Better camo? Yes please, but maybe keep the "I am here!" sign (loss of camo) when firing. I have found it is a good thing to lure the enemy out by driving by at almost vision range and fire off a few shots at random. That makes the enemy see me and as they shoot at me they light up.

Sluggish? Heck yes. Somewhat slow to get up to speed, and stops even if you just pass through thick brush, hit a fence or drive over some scrap. Try running over some logs at Swamp map, for example. You go from a zippy 65 to almost stand still in a second. But top speed is ofc good.

My point is that the tank is super fun, it is however most likely not very competitive in the hands of average joe - in its current shape. I loved my old ELC, and really like this new toy. But what we have seen in the last few days are unicums and super unicums playing a very specialized tank to its absolute limits. Had it been released in a normal manner I feel that the average dmg and spotting output would most likely be quite different. Meta at tier 8... This 1200 DPM tank sees tier 10's on average every second battle. Yes stealth is its weapon but it also needs some more gun to go with it.

My point about unicums playing this thing atm...: I just penned enemy tanks for a total of 2515 HP dealt, and that got me a third grade... I can't remember the word in English right now but a third grade "mark". Not MOE but mark... Ah you know what I mean. I think you need another 1000 dmg to ace this thing.

My point about unicums playing this thing atm...: I just penned enemy tanks for a total of 2515 HP dealt, and that got me a third grade... I can't remember the word in English right now but a third grade "mark". Not MOE but mark... Ah you know what I mean. I think you need another 1000 dmg to ace this thing.

It depends who you shoot, and where you shoot from. Light tanks have special XP gain modifiers if you shoot higher tier tanks.

I think it's fine already. It seems to be over performing for many players (myself too - 65% wr after 40 battles), so I don't see a reason to buff it really. Dpm is overated stat in tanks like this IMO as you're moving most of the time and not firing your gun. It's all compensated by the small size/camo and it just works. I don' see why people are asking for buff when they're winning as much or more than usually - isn't that a sign of well balanced tank? (

My point about unicums playing this thing atm...: I just penned enemy tanks for a total of 2515 HP dealt, and that got me a third grade... I can't remember the word in English right now but a third grade "mark". Not MOE but mark... Ah you know what I mean. I think you need another 1000 dmg to ace this thing.

then i got lucky?, i did about 2500 damage and 3 kills, got met 107k credits and an ace tanker.

but i do agreee, either shorter reload (about 20/22 seconds) and/or more damage per shot

I think it's fine already. It seems to be over performing for many players (myself too - 65% wr after 40 battles), so I don't see a reason to buff it really. Dpm is overated stat in tanks like this IMO as you're moving most of the time and not firing your gun. It's all compensated by the small size/camo and it just works. I don' see why people are asking for buff when they're winning as much or more than usually - isn't that a sign of well balanced tank? (

I really get your point. And I would agree if this tank was a tech tree tank you had to grind through (I'd love that, btw - but that is not the point atm).

What I am saying is that when this thing becomes available to all, the overall WR of the tank will most likely plummet like a dropped rock. Is that fair to those that buy it, after seeing what super unicums can do in it? I do not know. Ofc people should be aware of what has been said about it regarding it being bad, underperforming and so on. This tank takes a set of special skills to drive and utilize, and Im am not saying this to look smart - or dumb, for that matter. The tank needs a few positive tweaks, that's it. Imho that DPM needs to get up, trough faster reloads or through higher dmg per round I cannot tell.

Yeah, the unicums would do even better in it should it get a bit buffed, but so would also the average joes. And I think that is sorta fair in comparison to what enemies it is facing off.

It's not only available to unicums at the moment though it's available to anyone with a premium account or anyone who has a friend with a premium account so surely there's already a fairly wide skill base playing it? I said before it came out the dpm was stupid for a tier 8 prem tank but i dunno why in the few games i've played in it so far it's worked pretty well

The biggest problem this light has now is that you are always reloading when you should already be doing damage and it's frustrating because you miss so many opportunities to do damage where in any other light tank you could make use of them.

And sure, the spotting/camo are very nice to have but with the general state of the playerbase you can't be expected to solely rely on them to win you your matches. Players need to be able to carry matches themselves if needed and not be artificially handicapped by atrocious gun performance.